Railway signal device.



J. & W. H. JENNNGS. RAILWAY SIGNAL DEVICE.

APPLmAToN FILED AUG..24,1911.

'iff Patented 136010,19@

JOHN JENNING-S AND WILLIAM H. JINGS, OF GREENWOOD, INDIANA.

RAILWAY SIGNAL DEVICE.

Specification of tetters Patent.

rasantes nec. io, raie.

Application filed August 24, 1911. Serial No. 645,855.

To all wlwm t may concern:

Be it known that We, JOHN JENNINGS and WILLIAM H. JENNINGS, citizens of the United States, residing at Greenwood, in the' county of Johnson and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Signal Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway signals to be used on electric or steam roads and consists of a type embodying an automatic electrically operated signalv mechanism actuated by trains advancing toward a station, tunnel or crossing from either direction, and also to be again actuated as the'train leaves the station, tunnel or crossing;. the object of the invention is to provide an automatically operated signal apparatus for steam and electric railways which is simple in construction, efficient in.. operation and cheap to install.

vWe accomplish the above object of the -invention by means` of the signal device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in Which- Figure 1 is a top or plan View of a section of a railway track crossing aahighway. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan View of the mechanism for closing the signal circuit, with the shield, for protecting the mechanism, removed. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central vertical sectional view of the construction shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a crosssection on the line 4-4 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective view' of the movable plate for mechanically closing the si nal circuit. F ig. 6 is a top or plan view o the'device for breaking the magnet circuit.

Referring rto the drawings, l and 2 represents the rails of a single railwaytrack, and 3 represents a highway crossing said track.

About one-thousand feet or more on eachside of the crossing 3 is arranged a-mechanism for closing the electriccirc'uit through the signal. These devices are arranged on suitable bed-plates 4 secured to rail l, and each ofsaid devices is provided with a movable actuating vlever 5*-Which is operated by a lflange on .the car Wheels. The levers 45 pivotally engage the bed-plate 4 at 6 and saidlevers arenormally 'held in vertical position' by means of the springs 7. Presuming that a train is moving from left to right in Fig. 1, the lever 5, in the circuit closing device, arranged on the left hand end of said figure, 1s moved 'toward the right. The movement of said lever moves the sliding-plate l0 toward the ri ht, through the connecting rod 11. The p ate 10. is mounted on a guideway l2 and said plate is held in position on said guideway by means of a screw 13 passing through the slot 14, in plate 10. It will be noted that the plate 10 has a lateral extension 15, and the sides of said extension are cut on an incline, as shown, so that when the plate 1() is moved toward Athe right the adjacent inclined edge of saidv plate will engagethe pivoted arm 18, causing said arm to be moved from an inclined position, shown in Fig. 4, into a vertical position, shown by the dotted lines in F i 4, and against the core of a magnet 20,w ich is grounded through wire 21. The lever 18 is the armature of the magnet 20, and when this lever isv in the posit-ion shown in full lines in Fig.v ft, it is without the influence of its magnet, but when it is shifted against the magnet core by the plate 15, as described, it is held in such position by the magnet until the circuit of the latter is broken. The arm 18 is connected with the main feed-Wire 22 through the wires 23 and 24; the wire 23 connecting with one of the terminals of the magnets in the bell 26 and the wire 24 connecting with the other terminal of the magnets of said bell and with the main feed- Wire 22. Intel-posed in the line of thewire 24 is aseries of lamps 25 whereby the proper resistance is secured, these `lights, when lighted, serving an additional purpose byproviding a signal at night.

As heretofore mentioned, when the plate l0 is moved to the right, forcing the arm 18 into engagement 'with the core of the magnet 20, the circuit in wires 24, 23 and 2l is closed, causing the bell to ring and the lights to be lighted, so that a double warning is given at the crossing. The bell continues to ring and the lights to burn uritil the train reaches the crossing when thecircuit is broken by the ilanges of the car wheels coming into engagenjient and actuating theoperating lever Sth/infy lthe circuit breaker device. The circuit breaker device ,consists of a base 34, similar to base-plate 4,

grounded through the .Wire d0. The plate 38 normally stands in engagement vvth a fixed plate 42 which makes connection With the magnet 20, through the Wire 4a, located on the other side ot the crossing at the right hand end of Fig. 1, and this magnet 20, in the device on the right hand side of the crossing, is lgrounded through the Wire and the Wires 39 and ai, is normally a y closed circuit unless broken by shifting the block so as to remove the metallic-plate 38 from beneath the stationary-plate 4.2.

This circuit however is only broken momenv tarily, during which time the magnets 20 are demagnetized, thereby allowing the arms 18 to drop by gravity, from their position shown, by means of the dotted lines to the position shown by full lines in Figa. The magnet circuit connects ,with the main feed Wire 22 by means of the Wire 47. As the flanges of the Wheels pass the lever 30 on the circuit lbreaker device, said lever immediately assumes its normal vertical position, by rubans ci the springs 3l, so that the plate 38 is moved to again contact 'the stationaryplate 4:2, thereby again closing the circuit through the magnets 2G. As the train proceeds, after passing the crossing, and comes into contact with the lever 5 of the circuit f device located on the right hand end of said figure said lever is actuated, but the signal circuit is not closed, this device being capable of only closing the signal circuit when a train is approaching from the other Vdirection, from 'right to left. When a train moves from right to left the closing device on the left hand end of Fig. l is not actuated to close the signal circuit. The circuit closing device on the right hand end of Fig. 1 embodies the saine mechanism as the one 'at the left except that said mechanism ismounted so as to stand in a reverse direction. The arm 18 in the circuit closin device on the right of Fig. 1 connects Wit the magnets et the bell 26 by means of a Wire 23 and the core of the magnet is grounded through the Wire 21. The devices for closing the signal circuit on both sides ci the crossing and the device located at the crosslhus it will he seen that the magnet' circuit, including the ground. Wires a() and incense ing for breaking the magnet circuit are suitably inclosed by meansof a cover whereby foreign matter is excluded from' reaching the inner mechanism. The levers 5 and 30 pass through suit-able slots 5l in the covers and these slots are kept closed by means of sliding-plates 52 Which move with the levers.

l/Vhile We have described the devices as being located to protect a highway crossing, it will be noted that the same system4 can be placed into operation on each side of a station or at each end of a tunnel so as to give Warning ci trains approaching from either direction. It will also be noted that the apparatus is simple in construction, so that the cost of installation and maintenance is materially reduced.

vention, what We desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-d l. A signal controlling device, comprising a normally open signal circuit, a magnet, an armature for said magnet-normally without the attracting inuence thereof, said armature constituting one of the terminals of the normally open signal circuit, means actuated by a passing train to move said armature Within the influence of said magnet and to close said signal circuit, a normally closed circuit for said magnet, a circuit breaker arranged vvithin the magnet circuit, means actuated by said train for operating said circuit breaker, a signal device in said' signal circuit, and afeed Wire for energizing said circuits.

2. A signal controlling device, comprising a normally open signal circuit, a magnet, an

the attracting induence thereof, said armature constituting one of the terminals of the normally open signal circuit, a cam-plate actuated by a passing train to move said armature Within the influence of said magnet and to close said signal circuit, a normally closed circuit for said magnet, a circuit breaker'arranged Within the magnet circuit, means actuated by said train for operating said circuit breaker, a signal-device in said signal circuit, and a feed Wire for energizin 'said circuits. f

3. signal controlling device, comprising a normally open signal circuit, a magnet, an armature for said magnet normally without the attracting influence thereof, said armature constituting one of the terminals of the normally open signal circuit, a cam plate adapted to move said armature Within the influence of said magnet and to close )ated by a passing train to actuate the said icanrplate, means for normally holding said lever in vertical position, a normally closed circuit for said magnet, a circuit breaker arsaid si al circuit an actuatin lever actu- Having thus fully described .our said in armature for said magnet normally without I circuit breaker, a. signal devine in said sig? m11 circu', and a feed wire for energizing Saud cu'cults.

In Wit-ness whereof, We have hereunto set our handsV and seas at Indianapolis, ndii l l ana, this., 12th day of August, A. D. one thousand ninfhunhed :md eleven.

JOHN JENNNGS. [1.. sj VJMLAM H. JENNINGS. LLM Witnesses F. W. VVYHQRNER, J. Mx'rmm. 

